It's a Jeep thing...

It was love at first sight..now how do I say goodbye?

I saw her sitting in the Kentucky snow on Dixie Ave nine years ago.  A majestic, regal, shiny black Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd with all the bells and whistles of her year, 1996.  I knew we were meant to be, and took her home.

We traveled far and wide together.  Our first adventure exploring beautiful Louisville, Kentucky - home of bluegrass, the Kentucky Derby, and birthplace of the great Mohamed Ali.  She was loaded on flatbed of a moving vehicle when my son and I went back to Phoenix, AZ a year later.  How happy I was that day when the mover showed up with my big girl!!

We went everywhere..the beautiful green desert of Arizona, Tempe Town Lake, The Buttes, Mesa, Chandler..and she never complained.  A favorite treat was a wash and hand polish at a lil place off 32nd Street.  

Eventually life called again and we took off for Charleston, South Carolina.  We spent years there together, and tended to her aches and pains as she was getting on in age and mileage.  Day trips to Columbia's Zoo, the Battery in Charleston and the marshes of James Island made a regular outing.

A few months ago she and I was on the road again, loaded with a few boxes of belongings, a leather bag full of clothes, a small box of spices (I love to cook), my favorite cast-iron casserole and a joyful heart, on the way to join hubby and son as cheerleader, support, cook and whatever else they may need.

We arrived safe and sound in West Columbia, Texas after a long and hot two day drive.  She did great, but was tired...and it looks as if this one big adventure might have been her last.  Little ailments keep recurring, and bigger issues are looming...my level-headed man keeps explaining to me, patiently, that I have to understand that there comes a time to let go - she has lived for almost 200 000 miles.

I have parked her here at the hotel where we live, and regularly walk out to give her a pat and a word of love.  I still have not given up on her, and stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that restoring her would probably cost as much as a replacement..but how do I let her go?  She has been a part of my identity, my life, hopes and dreams for almost a decade, I see her as "alive".  Don't shake your head - I love my Jeep, and tomorrow when James has gone to work, will take her to a car doctor in Texas City, for another "verdict" - I will not give up, nor give in - it's a Jeep thing!!